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Stock Market News for May 29, 2014 - Market News

Benchmarks snapped a four-day winning streak and ended in the
red on Wednesday after investors took a breather and retail stocks
declined.The day was devoid of any economic data that could impact
markets. Investors now await the GDP report scheduled for release
on Thursday.

For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to
read today's
Ahead of Wall Street
article

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) dropped about 0.3% to close
Wednesday's trading session at 16,633.18. The Standard & Poor
500 (S&P 500) declined 0.1% to finish at 1,909.78. The
tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.3% to 4,225.07. The
fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) went up 1.5% to settle at
11.68. Total volume for the day was roughly 5.38 billion shares,
lower than this month's average of 5.79 billion. Advancers outpaced
declining stocks on the NYSE. For 51% stocks that advanced, 46%
declined.

Selling pressure in retail stocks had a negative impact on the
benchmarks. Shares of Chico's FAS Inc. (NYSE:
CHS
) declined 3.0% after the company posted first quarter 2014
earnings per share of 26 cents, less than the Zacks Consensus
Estimate of 29 cents per share. The company's first quarter
earnings also declined from last year's first quarter earnings per
share of 32 cents.

DSW Inc.'s (NYSE:
DSW
) first quarter 2014 earnings of 42 cents per share fell short of
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 48 cents per share. The company's
first quarter 2014 sales decreased 0.4% year on year to $599
million. Shares of this footwear and accessories retailer tanked
27.4%, erasing more than a fourth of its market value.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.'s (NYSE:
VRX
) new bid for Allergan Inc. (NYSE:
AGN
) failed to lift investor sentiment. In order to acquire Botox
maker Allergan, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, raised its offer to about
$49.4 billion, including a $10 hike in the cash component. In
response, Allergen stated that they will "carefully review and
consider" the revised offer. Shares of both Valeant Pharmaceuticals
and Allergan dropped 2.3% and 5.4%, respectively.

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE:
MCD
) was a big drag on the blue-chip index. Its shares decreased 1.0%
after the company made major capital return announcements. The fast
food behemoth expects to return $18 billion to $20 billion to its
shareholders between 2014 and 2016. Compared to the previous
three-year period, this is an increase by 10% to 20%. The company
plans to return the cash to its shareholders through a combination
of quarterly dividends and share buybacks.

Meanwhile, investors remained focused on first quarter GDP numbers
scheduled for release on Thursday. According to the consensus
estimate, GDP in the first quarter is expected to decline by 0.5%,
in sharp contrast to the "advance" estimate that predicts an
increase of 0.1%. The increase in the "advance" estimate of first
quarter output of goods and services produced by labor and property
located in the United States was lower than the consensus estimate
of a rise by 1.2%. Harsh winter weather was cited to be the primary
reason behind slow growth in the first quarter.

Six out of 10 sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the red. The SPDR
S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) led the decline among the S&P
500 sectors. The sector dropped 0.7%. Key housing stocks such as
Lennar Corp. (NYSE:
LEN
) and PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:
PHM
) declined 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
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